The present invention relates to a thermal wrap for coolers and more particularly pertains to increasing the thermal insulation of a cooler to preserve ice and maintain a cooling period for items disposed within the cooler.
The use of personal coolers for picnics, travel, and other uses is constant. Coolers are also used for transporting medicine and organs for transport. The preservation of these items is of extreme importance, especially the latter. These items are usually placed within a cooler and filled with ice to protect these items.
A problem exists because ice always melt at a rate quicker than most people anticipate. Most times, people do not have access to more ice. Thus, risks of spoilage to food, the warming of beverages, and the danger of rendering medicine and organs for transport useless is great. A need exists to increase the life span of ice.
The use of protective thermal devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, protective thermal devices heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of maintaining a cool temperature for foods and the like are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,264 to Tanaka discloses a refrigerating container comprised of multiple layers including an outer layer that appears to be a removable bag. U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,877 to Magaro discloses a thermal device comprised of a fabric with an insulating portion for wrapping around a bottle to insulate the contents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,226 to Abtahi discloses a storage case with a foldable material covering. U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,168 to Oberhelman discloses a beverage container cover suited to slip over a cardboard carton and maintain a cool temperature for the contents and to provide an ornate appearance. U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,900 to Jones discloses a soft sided cooler with a coolant material adapted for positioning therein.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a thermal wrap for coolers for increasing the thermal insulation of a cooler to preserve ice and maintain a cooling period for items disposed within the cooler.
In this respect, the thermal wrap for coolers according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of increasing the thermal insulation of a cooler to preserve ice and maintain a cooling period for items disposed within the cooler.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved thermal wrap for coolers which can be used for increasing the thermal insulation of a cooler to preserve ice and maintain a cooling period for items disposed within the cooler. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.